Myth Buster: Cyber security in the construction industry

Myth Buster: Cyber security in the construction industry

Cyber-attacks are becoming increasingly common, dominating headlines and affecting businesses across all sectors. As your business becomes increasingly reliant on technology to realise the many benefits it brings, defending against possible attacks is crucial.

A government report highlighted that UK construction companies had been affected by 77,000 separate cyber security incidents in a single year, but there is still a lack of awareness and proactive prevention within the industry.

“Surely my business isn’t a target”

Many business owners don’t think that they will be a target for cyber criminals – particularly when there are bigger players in the market. However, anyone with a connection to the internet is fair game in the eyes of cyber-criminals who can profit from fooling your employees into making payments, stealing your data or accessing your systems.

“I don’t have any valuable data”

The truth is, all data is valuable to cyber attackers whether it be site plans, contract terms, bid information, login credentials or personal data. Each of these things can be sold on the dark web to be used in committing further crimes. In some cases, cyber criminals don’t want your data, but will take it hostage (in a ransomware attack) until you pay them an often substantial fee. One example of this is the WannaCry ransomware attack that affected the NHS in 2017.

“The cost of a cyber-attack will be less than implementing precautions”

Are you willing to take that risk? The UK government reports that cyber-crime costs UK businesses approximately £29.1 billion each year, with an average cost of £20,000 and in some cases reaching millions. Whilst there is no such thing as 100% secure, in many cases the implementation of a handful of cyber security solutions will cost significantly less than the average cost of an attack – some solutions cost very little at all!

Unfortunately, there are still many cases of business owners only realising the risks after falling victim to cyber-crime and for some, it can have devastating consequences. Businesses have lost contracts, revenue and more when in many cases, there are technologies that could have prevented the attack.

At Eventura, we have a team of cyber security experts able to help businesses improve their security practices. The team advocates a model of prevent, detect, respond and recover. To discuss your current security solutions and how you can plan for the future, please do not hesitate to contact us.